


Surrenderer

by thicketofantlers



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Bonding, Coerced Bonding, Coercion, Dubious Consent, Emotional Manipulation, Hannibal just doesn't care about morals okay can this be a catchall tag, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Sexual Coercion, dubcon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-24
Updated: 2013-06-27
Packaged: 2017-12-16 01:30:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/856237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thicketofantlers/pseuds/thicketofantlers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>post-Rôti AU. </p><p>During his stay at the hospital, Will Graham's orientation is unexpectedly revealed. Hannibal convinces Will that his fever, sleepwalking and losing time are caused by his extended use of hormone blockers.</p><p>AKA, shamelessly self-indulgent Hannibal manipulating omega!Will and sexing him up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Alpha

 

  
_When nobody knows you, nobody cares_  
 _and nobody see's you, cause you're not really there_

_Surrenderer,_ Empires

 

“I suppose you are aware then, that your status was revealed to Jack after your initial blood work was taken.” Hannibal spoke casually as he set the small table in Will’s hospital room. The statement was anything, but casual, however. There was a great deal of gravity to the conversation that was about to take place, whether Will knew it or not. Hannibal had a particular outcome that he was expecting—and in Will’s current state he did not think it would be very difficult to arrive there. The man was very vulnerable, his fever not quite yet broken.

 

“Of course, I’m well aware of the fact, Dr. Lecter,” Will replied, bitterness poorly concealed in the tone of his voice, “I thought that we had laws to prevent the sharing of private medical information.”

 

“Orientation is not protected, Will. It is generally assumed that one’s superior knows their orientation upon hiring.”

 

“There wasn’t exactly a traditional hiring process.”

 

“Of course. Are you uncomfortable that I know?” Hannibal, of course, had been aware of Will’s omega orientation since the moment he had met the man—his beliefs confirmed by virtually all of his actions. Will was a poor actor, his performance a poor chimera of Alpha and Beta behaviors. He was undoubtedly taking hormone repressors, however, and his cheap aftershave easily covered the pheromones and scents not halted completely by the blockers. Hannibal, however, did possess an exemplary sense of smell, even for an Alpha, and was able to smell what most could not.

 

“I am uncomfortable that anyone knows, particularly my colleagues.” Will took his time getting up from the bed to move towards the table, he was tired despite his dreamless sleep--his body wracked with fatigue from fever. “Jack has suddenly decided that I am unfit for field work, and it’s not that I shot Gideon. He said he would look for a handler or an Alpha. I don’t care for either, I’ve been getting along just fine by myself.”

 

The very idea was distasteful—arrogant and assuming, as Jack Crawford was so often. Hannibal had little care for the man, much less at his rough treatment of Will. Hannibal was not in the least concerned with the information, however, for he knew that Will would refuse any suggestion that Jack made on the very grounds of the principle, and even were he convinced, Jack would not find a suitable mate.  Will was, quite nearly, a different breed of omega all together. He was stubborn and willful, had no desire for human contact or children and was quite comfortable, and even preferred, the absence of his heats and pheromones. The hormone blockers would have dulled his senses enough that he would not be affected by the scents of the Alpha’s he worked with, which Hannibal supposed was both good and bad.

 

“But do you think you could continue working, as you are, without the hormone blockers? A good deal of Jack’s team, and police officers you will be working with, are Alpha’s.”

 

Will shifted uncomfortably, “I never said I was going off the blockers.” He knew Hannibal, and everyone else, would disapprove of the idea. It was generally uncommon for omegas to take them for long periods of time; it unnerved Alpha’s and other omegas to talk about it, bothered by a departure from the natural state of being. Hannibal had no such qualms, but continuing to take them was not in his plans for Will.

 

“They were responsible for your fever and possibly for the sleepwalking and hallucinations.”

 

“I was never explicitly told that they were the cause. The tests were inconclusive on that!” Will wanted, so desperately, to believe that he would be okay and would be able to continue taking the medication. He was so afraid of what would happen when he stopped taking them—the heats, the hormones, the smells. He had been without these things for many years, but he was at a point where he would soon be faced with it all again.

 

“What else could have caused the fever and the other symptoms you have been experiencing? They found nothing wrong with you, other than the lack of omega hormones and the presence of the blockers in your blood stream, correct?” Hannibal had not been officially privy to the blood panels, but he knew what they would contain if he had seen them.

 

“I don’t care about the fever, I can deal with that. I’m done with heats.” Will insisted, firmly. The statement felt almost like a challenge or a taunt, to Hannibal, and a tempting one indeed.

 

“When did you last experience a heat?”

 

The expression on Will’s face read of a mix of anger, frustration and shock that Hannibal would ask him such a question, “That is none of your business, Doctor Lecter.” Sometimes Hannibal found the formal title stifling and inappropriate—but Will was using it, carefully, as punctuation and a warning mark.

 

“More and more research is leading us to the notion that heats serve as much as a psychological form of release as a physical one. I am sure you have followed the studies closely, and almost all of them seem to suggest a deterioration of mental state after extensive periods without allowing their bodies to go into heat.”

 

“My mental state is not _deteriorating_. I had a fever, there’s a difference. I haven’t had a heat in eight years, studies have gone on longer without showing any negative side effects that match the description of my current ailment.” Eight years. Hannibal almost found it difficult to push back the image of a younger Will Graham, fresh faced and new on the police force, fighting off his last heat before he could take the hormone blocker the moment it ended.

 

“You are different from most omegas, William. You are well aware of this. Your empathy disorder perhaps exacerbates your natural inclinations. I feel it may be incredibly advantageous for you to release some of your gathered emotions during a heat.”

 

“Don’t beat around the bush, Dr. Lecter. You mean going through heat with an Alpha.”

 

“That would most certainly make the experience more comfortable and in certain ways more fulfilling.”

 

“I’m not going to lay back and let someone pretend that I belong to them, not even for one heat.”

 

“I will make you a deal then,” Hannibal offered, watching Will’s expression carefully, “If you go through one heat with no hormone blockers and do not find your psychological condition improved, then I will write you a prescription and  speak to Jack on your behalf so that you could continue working.”

 

Will’s attention was piqued; he was no doubt acquiring his own hormone blocker’s illegally in order to keep his orientation such a closely guarded secret. A prescription would be safer and easier, and Hannibal’s assurance that the hormone blockers were not affecting him negatively could be enough incentive for Jack to let him back into the field. Jack would do whatever he could to get Will back in the field as quickly as possible, but there were certain precautions he could not get around.

 

“I get my pills on my own just fine.” Will was incredibly reluctant, in this. He desperately did not want to give in to his more vulnerable side and leave himself exposed.

 

“Through illegitimate means. I am offering you a good incentive, Will. I will write the prescription as long as you need it as long as we can rule out that the blockers were the cause for your fever and other issues.”

 

“Just one heat?” Hannibal would have smiled, there it was. Will was an intelligent man and he knew a good opportunity and option when presented to him. There was no doubt in Hannibal’s mind that he would accept the proposal, even if he did not do so immediately. This, however, was even better.

 

“One heat. If your condition is not much improved we will continue to work on other methods of therapy.”

 

Will did not speak for a few moments, contemplating before nodding, “I’ll do it. Just for one heat.”

 

“I think you will find it beneficial,” Hannibal nodded his head in approval, giving Will a small smile. He was of course very pleased that he hadn’t had to push things excessively, and that Will had freely decided this. It would make things easier, ultimately. Hannibal had a good deal of control and influence over Will’s decisions and thoughts lately, but it was not as if he had complete control. “Now, you may still have some disorientation as you quit taking the hormone blockers. For as long as you have been taking them, this is completely normal.”

 

“I’m familiar with the transition.”

 

“Of course. And please do not hesitate to call me for anything, Will. I know how difficult his is for you, I would like to make it as painless as possible for you. Trust me, I only want what is best for you.”

 

“Right. I’ll call you.”

 

 

 

“You’ve known Will Graham was an omega for quite some time, yet why have you just now taken the initiative to convince him to go off of the hormone blockers?”

 

Bedelia du Maurier was stunning, as always. Hannibal continued to see her for many reasons, but one of which was a sort of kindred spirit. It was challenging, for an Alpha, to practice psychiatry. Hannibal did not mind the challenge. Most of his patients were Betas, but the rare omega usually proved slightly more interesting at least.

 

“Yes. He was unaware that I knew and I did not wish to threaten his sense of security.”

 

“Yet you have convinced him to quit taking one of his primary ways of protecting himself.” Hannibal could tell that Bedelia disapproved, she disapproved of most aspects of Hannibal’s interactions with Will.

 

“I believe that he may find some of his issues relieved.”

 

“Perhaps. But the man is in his mid-thirties and unmated. You have to consider that the heat might be too much for him to handle on his own. It is rather rare for an omega to be unmated this late in life.”

 

“Will Graham is incredibly resourceful. It will be difficult for him, but I imagine that the benefits will far outweigh the costs for him.” Bedelia was still eyeing him warily, she knew more or less what he was planning at this point but she wanted him to admit it and explain it so she could express her disapproval and distaste for his plans.

 

“Surely this predicament must remind your own lack of a mate.”

 

“That is something I am acutely aware of regardless of whether or not Will Graham is taking his medication.”

 

“You’ve never spoken about orientation as much as you have since Will Graham came into your life. Do you wish that he had come into your life under different circumstances so that you could pursue him?”

 

“I do not find it prudent to spend my time thinking about scenarios that did not occur. Will Graham is a part of my life as a patient and a friend. If he seeks me out as a mate, I will accept him as such.” It certainly broke no laws, perhaps it was ethically dubious but ultimately society still accepted that Alpha-omega pairings transcended most other forms of social contracts. Hannibal was not afraid of Bedelia’s disapproval or reproach from any professional organizations.

 

“Sometimes I wonder why you come and see me, Hannibal. You seem to know what I will say and when I will approve or disapprove yet you do not care and don’t seem to heed my advice,” Bedelia rose, smoothing out her dress as she did so. That would mark the end of this session, then. Sometimes she did grow much too frustrated with him. “I will still tell you this—Will Graham does not want a mate. He has gone out of his way for a long time to avoid one, and he will only resent you if you claim him.”

 

“I do believe that Will Graham is my patient, and not yours.”

 

 

“Good evening, Hannibal.”

 

 

The very moment Will arrived at his office, Hannibal could smell him. It almost caught him off guard for he had never smelled it so strongly. It was sweet, just short of excessively so, and even though Will clearly insisted on the Old Spice it was poorly covered. He imagined that even Alpha’s with lesser senses of smell were still able to smell it well. He smelled ripe, as if he was ready for picking.

 

“Good evening, Will. Come in,” Hannibal greeted him warmly as he opened the door, gesturing for him to enter and closing the door behind him. Will paused as he walked by Hannibal, before pushing through and going to sit down in the chair he usually sat in.  “How have you been?”

 

“I’ve been off of my hormone blocker’s since last week.” Will looked, quite frankly, uncomfortable in his own skin. “I’m not sure that I can do this.”

Hannibal crossed the room to sit down at the chair across from Will; they were spaced reasonably far apart but closer than they had been in some previous meetings. Will seemed so distracted that Hannibal was unsure that he even noticed or paid it much attention. “Why would that be?”

 

“I don’t think it’s going to help. I woke up in the woods behind my house this morning.”

 

“It takes time for the effects of the medication to wear off. You won’t know for sure that it has, fully, until you go into heat. I would not rush to make judgments until then."

 

“I can’t concentrate. Some of my students, many of them are Alpha’s of course; hardly seem to be taking me seriously now. They’re writing me off as some kind of old maid,” Will was upset again—angry at the lack of respect his students gave him now that they knew who he really was. It was an unfortunate reality. Though there had been many strides in omega’s rights, and some were just as capable as Alphas, there was still a tendency to disregard them. “And it get’s worse than that, I can—they’re distracting _me_. I can smell them.”

 

Will seemed horrified at that—embarrassed to even tell Hannibal based on his expression. Will probably felt foolish and desperate for imagining some young Alpha pressing against him in front of the rest of the class, scenting him.

 

“You haven’t experienced the attention of an Alpha like that in some time, it makes sense that you would desire it now that you can properly scent them.”

 

“What am I supposed to do if I go into heat and I’m still losing time and sleepwalking, Dr. Lecter?” Will’s implication as clear—and Hannibal was sure it was a genuine worry for the man. Were that to happen he would have no control over his body or mind, he may end up in the clutches of an unfamiliar Alpha with no regard or concern for Will’s safety or wishes.

 

“We could make plans for that, Will. There are options—you could check into a boarding house or ask to stay with someone you trust. Jack and his wife are both Beta’s, you would be safe there.”

 

Will gave Hannibal a look of clear refusal, “I’m not staying at a boarding house and stewing in the arousal of fifty other omegas, and I’m not asking Jack if I can stay with him. I’m half convinced he would try to push an Alpha in straight on to me.”

 

“I doubt Jack would do such a thing. As we are friends, I would gladly offer my own home but I fear you may feel uncomfortable considering I am unmated.”

 

Will paused, gave Hannibal a look without meeting his eyes, “I would trust you.”

 

Hannibal kept his gaze level, attempting to catch a moment of eye contact from Will without forcing the issue too much. He would not press the man very much where he would be aware of the interference. “ I believe we both know that that is not what we would have to worry about, Will.”

 

“I’m still capable of making decisions and controlling myself, Dr. Lecter. I’m not a teenager going through their first throes.”

 

“No, you are an adult. If you feel safer staying with me than at your home, I will welcome you. I care for your well-being. But I would also encourage you to continue to think about it.” Hannibal had considered that Will might ask him that, but for the most part he had ruled against it. Will was expectedly skittish of Alpha’s, and Hannibal had expected to be more included in that general category despite their close relationship.

 

“Fine, I’ll think about it.

 

“Good. Now, have you been sleeping any better?”


	2. Omega

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will goes into heat. Hannibal takes advantage of the situation.

 

  
_I hear a whisper, is it my ghost?_   
_I start begging for mercy, I ain't ready to go_   
_I ain't ready to go_

  
_Surrenderer,_ Empires

Two weeks, Will thought, looking at the calendar in his kitchen. That was all it took for his body to betray him. As if it hadn’t already been doing that in the first place. Will felt at odds with his body and mind, most days, not quite comfortable with his dubious grip on either. This betrayal was different though.

He could feel it bubbling in his veins, rising from his groin and into his stomach, settling in, and making itself at home. It was a heat—his first in eight years, second in ten. The rise in his body temperature was accompanied by an ache, deep within. It was not overpowering yet, but he could feel it coming. He wondered how long he had.

Will had been thinking about his options. Lock himself in his house? He refused, on principle, to go to a boarding house, even just until his heat burned out. The places were full of longing and loneliness, and other Omegas never understood his distrust and dislike of touch. Even among omegas, he was a pariah. He wouldn’t meet their eyes or touch them or soothe them like other Omegas would.

No. He could stay here or he could go to Hannibal’s house. He may be an Alpha, and he may be unmated, but that made no difference to Will. The man was solid and still, where Will ebbed and gave away. Will could not imagine the man out of control, even in the face of an Omega in heat. Will hadn’t realized how much he had trusted him before this had happened—before the fever and the hospital.

Hannibal really had become his gauge.

The realization was significant to Will. He did not hold many people close enough to trust, particularly when he was half crazed with heat. He felt a pang in his gut, but he had already made his decision. He fed his dogs, called the teenager down the street to feed them in the morning and let them out once or twice a day and give them some attention until he got back.

__

He hit traffic at noon, heading towards Hannibal’s home. He had turned up the air conditioner in his car as cold and fast as it would go but between his heat and the weather, it was barely enough. He was too distracted to even get mad at the traffic jams, red lights and idiotic other drivers, but when he pulled up to Hannibal’s house it was a blessing.

It had occurred to him, en route, that perhaps he should have called to ask again, or make sure that Hannibal would be home. But he was here, already. He had made his decision, and it was with some difficulty that he got out of his car and went to knock on the door.

He could already smell Hannibal, of course he could, it was the man’s home. He hadn’t quite expected it to be so strong though—it wasn’t as if he usually smelled particularly strongly. Will couldn’t put his finger on it, but he thought of wine, something exceedingly expensive and exquisite. It suited him.

“Good afternoon, Will. I suppose you have decided that you would like the use of my guestroom?” Hannibal’s voice was calm and comforting—Will hadn’t realized the door was open, but Hannibal did not miss a beat. He had been able to tell what was going on as soon as he opened the door.

“Yes. I should have called, I’m sorry.”

“There is no need for an apology, please come in.” Hannibal stepped aside and welcomed Will in with a simple gesture, closing the door behind him, “May I offer you anything.”

Will shook his head; he was neither thirsty nor hungry. The heat was curling through him and he felt dizzy. “Can you show me where I’ll be staying.”

“Of course. It seems you should have come earlier.” There was no judgment in Hannibal’s tone, he was making an observation. He could tell that Will was already close to being far gone—it had only been, what, less than two hours since he had left his home? He had just felt it starting then. Before the blockers it was a full from when the heat set in before he felt the full effects.

It was not as if Will knew Hannibal’s house, well. He had been there to the kitchen and dining room, but knew nothing of the upstairs. Whatever Hannibal had been doing, he clearly did not mind setting down or leaving, for he lead Will straight up the stairs and down the hall. Will paid little attention until Hannibal opened the door to the guest room, “Here, you may stay in here. Did you bring anything with you?”

“I have an overnight bag in the trunk.” He kept it there incase he needed to go for a case out of town quickly. He was glad he did, he hadn’t even thought to pack a bag to bring here with him.

“I will bring it inside for you. Make yourself at home, you may stay as long as you need.”

Will knew he had made the right choice—there were risks here, both from himself and from Hannibal, but he knew Hannibal would not let him wander into the middle of the night half crazed for some stranger to find. Hannibal would protect him, would remind him of who he was and why he didn’t want some stranger to find him and breed him.

“Thank you,” Will moved in to the bedroom towards the bed—there was a wave building up within him, threatening to crash at any moment. He wasn’t sure how long it took or how long he sat there waiting but then it started.

Tearing him apart from the inside out, the heat rolled through him and it said to him: ‘Here it is, you are everything you do not want to be.’

******

He existed in a state of delirium, from that first tumbling fall into the madness of his heat. His own hands weren't right, not as he touched his cock or slid fingers desperately inside of himself. Orgasms came, but left him still wanting, craving something that he couldn't achieve on his own. The intensity, the heat, were worse than he could remember. Every unsatisfying touch felt like it was driving him further into a madness he could not return from.

The only thing grounding him was that scent, faint yet strong, insisting to his senses that an Alpha was close, ready for him, ready to pluck him from the tree and take. He caught himself up and towards the door, barely cognisant before he could burrow back in the messy sheets, wishing desperately that Hannibal could lock him in from the outside. 

He knew he was crying out, begging, for Hannibal to come to him and take him, tried to muffle it in the pillow, tried to hold himself back. He felt weak, vulnerable. Dimly knew that he would have to apologize for everything, there was no telling how long he would last like this. Hannibal must think him no better than the rest, and he wondered if the man had known this was what he was going to unleash.

*****

He was on fire—his body and the sheets engulfed in flames, tearing through the room, biting his skin and leaving chunks of it blackened and raw. He was going to die here. Will saw the stag out of the corner of his eyes—flames engulfing it, but this time it was not affected.

Then he was blinking, fever-eyed and delirious, as a cold cloth was placed on his forehead. It did little to help but for drawing him back in, to the bed in Hannibal’s guest room with the Alpha leaning over him, reaching to put a finger on his pulse. A wave of want crashed through Will an intensity that he had never felt in his life, enough to have him leaning up to follow the touch as Hannibal withdrew it. 

“Please.” His voice sounded raw, shredded and deep, he must’ve been screaming or yelling. “Touch me again.”

Hannibal’s gaze was like a brand, in the moment Will couldn’t fathom what was possibly going on in the man’s mind, all he wanted was his touch, his cock wedged up inside him, filling him up like he _needed_.

The answer seemed to take millennia, “No, dear Will, not yet.”

Will howled as he watched Hannibal leave the room.

****

 “I need—please.” 

“You need some water, drink, Will.” The glass was cool against his lips, the water colder as he drank. It did little to help soothe the raging heat—when Hannibal was so close. 

He smelled—

Will sat up as Hannibal put the glass down—curling one hand in the fabric of Hannibal’s slacks, trying to keep the Alpha close. He drank in his scent, full and heady, stoking the fire within himself as he did.

“Please. Need you.” He felt drunk, garbling words and slurring them out in the haze. 

There was a hand in his hair, each point of contact from fingers on his scalp sending a spark of lightning down his spine and into his core. The hand ran through his hair, far too gently, trying to soothe.

“Fuck me.”

“Soon.”

***

He was kneeling by the Alpha’s bed, the hand back in his hair, head propped against a strong thigh. He was aware of words, but he wasn’t sure what they had been saying before—everything foggy and humid in his head, like trudging through a swamp.

“What do you need?”

“You.”

“You can do better,” There was a hand near his mouth, thumb trailing over his lips, keeping him grounded and just short of burning alive.

“Need you inside of me.”

“What would you like me to do?”

“Fuck me, take me apart, please.”

Will was sure he heard another question ( _What if I don’t put you back together?_ ) but all that mattered was Hannibal’s fingers in his mouth, before the man tilted his head up, forcing him to make eye contact, “Onto the bed.”

**

There were hands on his face, moving him, tilting his head, looking into his eyes, “Do you want me, Will?” Each point of contact sparked the desire; he leaned into the Alpha, almost deliriously. 

“Yes, inside of me, please,” The words tumbled from his mouth felt like an overused prayer, eyelids fluttering against the sensations, the overstimulation from Hannibal's feather touches, the bright lights, the blankets rustling against his skin, raw and sensitive.

“I need you to focus. Do you want this? You can have me as a mate or not at all. Will you take that?” Will heard the question, trying to take in the gravity of what he was answering, he was hesitant but—there was something inside of him screaming yes, yes, fuckedcomfortmatelovefuckedbabymate.

“I don’t know, I can’t—“

The hands were gone, Hannibal backing away from him—all points of contact gone, Will left leaning forward to follow his touch again.

“I won’t touch you again until I have an answer.”

Will looked up at him—Hannibal, still fully dressed. The haze of the heat was clouding everything but he was trying so hard to think clearly and think of reasons why he wouldn’t want this man as a mate, and none occurred to him. All he could think of was getting that touch back.

“I’m yours.”

*

Hannibal was _finally_ pressing into him, hips touching hips—cock pressed against every pleasurable spot inside of him. Each thrust left him spiraling, a wave of pleasure crashing over, replacing the pain and longing.

He was dimly aware that the constant spew of words ( _pleasewantneed)_ was from him, his voice stretched thin but still capable of conveying what he needed. The only response was the smirk pressed against the nape of his neck, then a kiss as a hand wrapped around his cock, firm and sure in its touch.

Will keened, pressing back against Hannibal and letting out a new string of pleas as he did. Hannibal pressed against him, drawing the heat from his body through his touch, taking _taking_ _taking_.

“You really do beg so beautifully, Will,” The words were a whisper against his skin; he felt the more from the touch of lips than he heard them. Teeth, grazed lightly against the delicate skin of the nape of his neck, teasing him for what was to come.

“Please,” Will pressed back against him, arched his back—displaying submission and need.

Then there were teeth in his skin, and he came harder than he had in his life—Hannibal following shortly, cock swelling and locking them together. The teeth bit into his flesh hard—he could feel the skin breaking, Hannibal’s tongue soothing over the skin once the teeth were gone. Will howled.

 

* * *

 

Lucidity returned to him slowly, over the following days. There were interludes of sex, tied with Hannibal most of the time, the man against his back—an arm around him, hands everywhere.

Hannibal had claimed him, and he had asked for it. The thought sat wrong in him, unsettled him and felt like a muscle he couldn’t stretch. There was a connection between them; Hannibal’s scent was possibly the most alluring thing he had ever smelled, now. 

“This isn’t what I meant to happen,” Will said, over breakfast the morning after the heat had broken and a ravenous hunger for sustenance had set into his bones. He had shower and scrubbed, but Hannibal’s scent still wrapped around him like a blanket—both weighing him down and comforting. 

Hannibal had been cooking, of course, put more food onto Will’s plate and poured more orange juice from the carafe into his glass.

“Neither was it my intention,” The words settled in his ears like honey—everything about Hannibal came across in a different light, now, it would be the bond—growing between them, ensnaring them both in instinctual feelings and desires. “But I think that the companionship will fit us well, that it will be as good for me as it is for you.”

Will was skeptical, “I don't cook or clean or—“

“Shush, Will. You still need to eat more," Hannibal gestured at his plate again--he had been feeding Will, practically since he had woken up, "As it happens, cooking is a passion and cleaning I have grown accustomed to.  I do not expect you to play the role of a stereotype for me, as I'm sure you do not expect me to pick up hunting. We will work on other things later.”

"What about work, my dogs?" 

"Other things later. Your body has had a very stressful last few days. You need food, and water. So eat, and drink. Other things later."

He poked around at his food; he was still hungry but less urgent in the need. He was stuck in his own thoughts—he hadn’t wanted this, he had fought for all of his life to stay unmated, unbounded and retain his independence. Part of it settled in his gut like a cement block, weighing him down and making him heavy.

However, there was also a part of Will that felt content with the knowledge—like an unlatched piece had finally been slotted into place, completing a broken circuit, a circuit that now sparked when he looked at Hannibal, or when the man’s fingers brushed against the imprint of his teeth on the back of his neck. The spark that ran through him felt sharp, and dangerous but he couldn’t quite put his finger on the reason why.

“Eat, Will. This will taste no good cold or reheated, and I know you would hate to waste the life that went into it.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not as happy with this chapter, it was very difficult to write. I am considering continuing this with a series of short one shots or snippets about what might happen as their relationship progresses, the bond deepens and they get further on in the Will figuring out Hannibal is a cannibal thing and Hannibal manipulating Will (as if he hasn't already done enough). As for now, though, this is where things stand.
> 
> Shameless self promoting:  
> thicket-of-antlers.tumblr.com


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